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By Jordan Sigler
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Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is feeling pressure one day before his team is set to play No. 9 Alabama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
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The No. 1 Hoosiers traveled to Southern California on Monday, a break from the team's normal travel schedule for games.
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During his news conference on Wednesday, Cignetti noted Thursday's game is more of a "bowl game" than a typical contest because practices are held on site in Southern California more like a traditional bowl contest than a regular season game or the first round of the CFP when teams would travel the day before and have a walkthrough practice.
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Cignetti didn't like the way Indiana practiced on Monday or Tuesday. He had a warning for his players to have a "sense of urgency" during Wednesday's practice.
“A lot to do today from a preparation standpoint,” Cignetti said, via The Daily Hoosier. “The last two days have been fairly disruptive, with the travel day and then a first practice on site. So, as the leader, the head coach, I feel there’s a lot of loose ends we’ve got to tie together today.
“I feel the sense of urgency, like, to get it right today, to get everybody thinking the way we want them to think.”
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer thought his team had good energy during practice this week. However, he agreed that the format for the CFP quarterfinal was different than a typical game.
“It’s certainly different because you would have traveled normally today,” DeBoer said. “But you just adjust. Like Coach said, you just adjust to what it is and make the most of it.”
Cignetti thinks the CFP could look to change the travel format to help the competitiveness of the game.
“Let’s face it, this is a playoff game. It’s a football game, right,” Cignetti said. “And I think both teams would like to be able to kind of go through their routine and process like they do for every football game and not have this disruption.
“It is what it is. We made the best of it. We both had to go through it.”
Though that would mean fewer media appearances at the bowl site for players and coaches leading up to the game, which probably wouldn't be ideal for the Rose Bowl of the CFP and their business partners.
On Thursday, Alabama and Indiana will play an important football game for the right to play in another bowl (Peach Bowl) in the CFP semifinal on Jan. 9.
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